Markets rise as Alcoa sees stronger demand

LONDON (AP) — World stock markets rose Wednesday after the fourth-quarter earnings season got off to a positive start in the U.S. with aluminum giant Alcoa forecasting higher demand for 2013.Sales of aluminum have been hurt by the weak global economy, but Alcoa predicted a 7 percent increase in demand this year, slightly better than the 6 percent increase in 2012. Because Alcoa supplies so many key...

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Wall Street gains as earnings flow in; Alcoa up

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street Wednesday after U.S. corporate earnings reports got off to a good start.The Dow Jones industrial average rose 57 points to 13,396 as of 2:12 p.m. EST. The Dow is coming off of two days of losses.The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained four points to 1,461 and the Nasdaq composite rose 16 points to 3,108.Having rallied after a last-minute resolution stopped...

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Wall Street gains as earnings flow in; Boeing up

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street Wednesday after U.S. corporate earnings reports got off to a good start.The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 61.66 points to 13,390.51, its first gain of the week. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 3.87 points to 1,461.02, and the Nasdaq composite rose 14 to 3,105.81.Having rallied after a last-minute resolution stopped the U.S. from going over...

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RPT-Wall St Week Ahead: 'Cliff' concerns give way to earnings focus

NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Investors' "fiscal cliff"worries are likely to give way to more fundamental concerns,such as earnings, as fourth-quarter reports get under way thisweek.Financial results, which begin after the market closes onTuesday with aluminum company Alcoa, are expected to beonly slightly better than the third-quarter's lacklusterresults. As a warning sign, analysts' current estimates...

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Wall Street cheers "cliff" deal, but only for now

When lawmakers delivered a long-delayed, last-minute agreement on the budget, Wall Street celebrated. And it would be easy to think that the surge in the Dow the following day meant that investors had put their concerns about Washington's political gridlock behind them.The Dow Jones industrial average surged on the news, but that doesn't mean the volatility is over. In fact, there could be more turmoil...

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Analysis - U.S. fiscal crisis seen hurting tech earnings

Warning to investors: major U.S. technology companies could miss estimates for fourth-quarter earnings as "fiscal cliff" worries likely led some corporate clients to tighten their belts last month and refrain from spending all of their 2012 IT budgets.Tech companies usually enjoy a spike in orders in December as corporations use money left over in their budgets to buy goods on their wish lists -...

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Hong Kong shares may trim strong 2013 start after Fed voices concern

HONG KONG, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares could end atwo-day rally on Friday, tracking Wall Street weakness aftersigns that the U.S. Federal Reserve has growing concerns aboutits stimulative monetary policy.Any losses could be limited if mainland China markets reopenstrongly on Friday, trading for the first day in 2013 after athree-day New Year holiday.On Thursday, the Hang Seng Index ended up...

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Analysis: Alimta patent seen as Lilly's "wild card"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eli Lilly & Co may have a $15 billion wild card up its sleeve as it waits for desperately needed new drugs to bear fruit.Should an obscure patent on Lilly lung cancer drug Alimta survive a court challenge this year, the company would be able to wring more than five additional years of peak sales out of the fast-growing product that it would otherwise lose to cheaper generics.Annual...

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Stocks fade after Fed discloses split on stimulus

NEW YORK (AP) — A two-day rally in the stock market came to an end Thursday afternoon when an account of the Federal Reserve's last meeting revealed a split between bank officials over how long the Fed should keep buying bonds to support the economy.The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index treaded water for much of the day, then slid into the red around 2 p.m. Eastern,...

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Private hiring jumps in December despite fiscal worries

Private-sector employers added more new jobs than expected last month even as a potential budget crisis loomed, helping the job market end 2012 on a high note, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Thursday.The ADP National Employment Report showed the private sector added 215,000 jobs in December, comfortably above economists' expectation of a 133,000 gain.The increase came even as companies...

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Fiscal cliff market relief fades in Europe

Enthusiasm waned Thursday in Europe over U.S. legislators' deal to stave off the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that could have hurt the world's largest economy.While the deal passed by Congress this week avoids the near-term risk of a major blow to businesses and households, it left unsolved several budget measures, mainly government spending cuts. Major...

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Monti says political rivals should sideline extremists

 Mario Monti, bidding for a second term as Italy's prime minister, said on Thursday a left-wing party on track to lead the next government should sideline "extreme" elements who hinder vital economic reforms.The 69-year-old former European Commissioner was appointed in November 2011 to lead an unelected right-left government of experts to save Italy from financial crisis after then-Prime Minister...

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December retail sales mixed, nimble chains do better

Several major U.S. retailers beat expectations of modest sales increases in December as shoppers wrapped up holiday buying, but overall results were mixed and only stores that were nimble enough thrived in an uncertain economy.Costco Wholesale Corp , Nordstrom Inc , TJX Cos Inc and Ross Stores Inc were among the winners of the month, while such chains as Target Corp and Family Dollar Stores Inc felt...

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World stocks put relief rally on pause

 Enthusiasm faded on Wall Street and in European markets Thursday over U.S. legislators' deal to stave off the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that could have hurt the world's largest economy.While the deal passed by Congress this week avoids the near-term risk of a major blow to businesses and households, it left unsolved several budget measures,...

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Egypt budget deficit expected to widen to 200 billion pounds: agency

 Egypt's budget deficit in the year to end-June 2013 could widen by 50 percent from the original forecast made in July, according to a figure released by the planning minister on Monday."The budget deficit is expected to rise to 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($31.5 billion) in the current fiscal year unless strict economic policies are put in place to confront it," the state news agency quoted...

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Egypt's leader sees currency stabilising "within days"

 Egypt's pound fell to a record low on Monday as the president signalled his government would allow it to depreciate slowly for several more days to stop a drain on foreign reserves that has driven the economy into crisis since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.Hit by a new bout of political turmoil in the last month, the pound had weakened to a record low on Sunday at a new dollar auction brought in...

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Egypt budget deficit expected to widen to 200 bln pounds: agency

Egypt's budget deficit in the year to end-June 2013 could widen by 50 percent from the original forecast made in July, according to a figure released by the planning minister on Monday."The budget deficit is expected to rise to 200 billion Egyptian pounds in the current fiscal year unless strict economic policies are put in place to confront it," the state news agency quoted Ashraf al-Araby as saying...

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Nigerian forex reserves up 34.4 pct yr-on-yr by December 24

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves rose 34.45 percent year-on-year to $44.25 billion by December 24, latest figures from the central bank showed on Monday.The forex reserves of Africa's second biggest economy were down from their year peak of $44.64 billion on December 7. Reserves stood at $44.03 billion a month ago and $32.91 billion the same the same time last year.Nigeria's central bank has been...

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Markets calm despite looming fiscal cliff

Markets appeared Monday to take in stride the ongoing failure of U.S. politicians to agree to a budget deal in time to avoid automatic tax increases and spending cuts that many economists think could tilt the world's largest economy back into recession.With just hours to go before the U.S. falls off the so-called "fiscal cliff," Republicans and Democrats remained divided over taxes and spending, raising...

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Egypt fears over currency lead to dollar rush

 As Egypt prepared to release official results of the divisive constitutional referendum on Tuesday, the country edged deeper into economic crisis with some worried residents hoarding dollars for fear that the local currency could weaken significantly.The anxiety over the economy was visible at currency exchanges in the upscale Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek, which ran out of dollars by midday...

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